In response to COVID-19, global and national public health authorities alike have urged workers to stay home when they feel ill. But without access to paid sick leave, workers must make the untenable choice between going to work when they are ill and their families’ economic security.

Analyzing national paid sick leave policies in 193 countries, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center has released new findings (published in the journal Global Public Health) that highlight critical gaps that undermine the ability of all workers to follow public health advice and stay home when ill. These include waiting periods to access paid leave benefits, limits on the duration of paid leave, and exclusions of workers in precarious or non-standard employment, an increasing share of the labor force.

Comprehensive paid sick leave policies that cover all workers are urgently needed to ensure greater preparedness and resiliency when health crises like COVID-19 hit without notice, and to combat the spread of communicable diseases that impact people every year, in every country in the world.

To access the data and learn more, please explore the resources below: